30 Jul NWBL Round 5 Wrap
Round 5 of the National Wheelchair Basketball League has thrown up more questions than answers in the race to the Finals with six teams still a chance of seeing post season action and Round 6 shaping as a make or break for several teams.
In Geelong, the Red Dust Heelers staked their claim at a Finals berth with two wins over the Perth Wheelcats. The Wheelcats drew first blood with a 56-46 win on Saturday morning after starting the game with a 21-10 opening quarter. The Heelers stayed with them for the rest of the game but couldn’t close the gap, however the momentum alone would serve them well in Games 2 & 3.
The Heelers and the Wheelcats put on a show on Saturday night that was live streamed across the WBA YouTube channel, with the Heelers holding on for a 58-55 win. Red Dust got out to a 10-point advantage at quarter time but from then on there was rarely more than two possessions in it, as the Heelers stayed cool under pressure, sinking their free throws at the end of the game to keep Perth at bay.
The stat sheet reflected the closeness of the game with the rebound count 38-36, the assist count 17-all, the steals 13-all and the field goal attempts 23/59 (38%) to 21/58 (36%) in favour of Red Dust.
Sunday’s game turned into a decider, but it was all one way in favour of the home side who took care of the visitors 65-35. Perth shot just 22% from the field including 2/13 from three-point range.
Sabri Bedzeti led the way for Red Dust with 17.6ppg and 16rpg while Mitch Bond averaged 10.6 points and 6 assists for the weekend.
For Perth, Ben Moncrieff averaged 13.3ppg, Tom McHugh averaged 12 points, and 9.7 rebounds and Phil Evans averaged 6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Perth now returns home for their final regular season round against the Wollongong Roller Hawks before a bye in Round 7 while Red Dust host Darwin.
The Salties have moved to first place on the ladder as they continue to mount a strong defence of their inaugural NWBL title with wins over the Southern Districts Spartans.
Darwin did what they’ve done to all their opponents so far, getting off to fast starts that set up big wins, this week winning 83-47, 88-51 and 89-58.
Returning to a court he once called home, Tom O’Neill-Thorne put on a show scoring 29 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists in Game 1 before finishing with numbers of 23 points, 7.3 rebounds and 10.7 assists for the round. Jaylen Brown averaged 23.3 points. 10.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
Game 1 saw Weston Tedcastle chime in with 12 points on 6/8 shooting while in Games 2 and 3 Jannik Blair reminded everyone of his offensive capabilities with efforts of 14 points (7/11 shooting) and 16 points (8/10 shooting).
While the losses leave the Spartans on just three wins and in second last place, they still have a mathematical chance of making the Finals. To do so, they need to win their remaining 6 games and for Red Dust to lose their remaining 6, it’s a scenario that sounds farfetched but is not impossible.
Red Dust face the top two teams in Darwin and Wollongong to end the season while the Spartans meet the Manly Wheel Eagles in Round 6 and the Titans in Round 7. This weekend is a must win for both the Spartans and Wheel Eagles, if either team is any hope going into the final round, they must win all three games. A series split will rule both of them out.
Wollongong accounted for the Southern Districts Titans but had to push hard to deliver their decisive wins.
The Roller Hawks won 74-32 on Friday night, 85-49 on Saturday and 85-24 on Sunday.
“It’s just about getting through different rotations and trying new combinations. I mean, they (Titans) played a different style today. They kind of packed the paint a bit, so pretty similar to the other Queensland team. We had to adjust to that and make a few changes, but I think we did pretty well in the end,” said Roller Hawk Luke Pople.
Tristan Knowles led the Roller Hawks with 25ppg, 10.3rpg and 6.3apg and was well supported by Jontee Brown (19ppg, 7rpg) and Jordi Ruiz (14ppg, 8rpg and 6.7apg).
For the Titans, Peter Berry led with 13.7 points, his best coming on Saturday night with 28 points, but the Roller Hawks defence remained dogged throughout the weekend, with only three Titans players getting on the scoreboard on Friday and only four on Sunday and none in double figures.
The Titans have a bye in Round 6 before they meet the Spartans in the most local of derbies while the Roller Hawks next travel to Perth but will be missing several key players including Luke Pople, Tomas Klein and Hannah Dodd due to the 3X3 World Championships.
Despite the disruption to the domestic season, Pople says having a tournament like this is all positive.
“It’s awesome. And it gives guys more and more opportunities just to play, whether it be national league, whether it be different tournaments for the Aussie team, if they come up and we can go and we’re available, there’s no point in us backing down from that. So, the more we can be on court and play, the better it’s going to help our national team and then the Wollongong Roller Hawks.”